The Farmhouse, West Malling

My first review!  It's kind of fitting that it should be about the first gastro-pub that Dee and I ever really liked.  The Farmhouse is a traditional pub in what used to be the public bar and a semi-fancy dining room in what was the lounge bar.  There's a lively atmosphere in the bar, a couple of nice real ales on tap (Harvey's Sussex and a guest beer called Sun Top IPA) and a warm welcome from the French staff.

The Farmhouse

The menu has evolved a bit since we were last here, the manager we came to know, Edith, has long since returned to Paris but the place still feels welcoming and friendly and is still staffed by young French waitresses and barmaids.

We decided to skip the starters so we'd have room for deserts.  That decision lasted right up to the moment the waitress asked if we'd like some fresh garlic bread while we wait for our main courses!  It was delicious.  Hot, but only barely toasted, and with plenty of garlic butter but without being greasy.

Dee went for Dublin Pie with fresh veg, I opted for crab and crayfish linguini.  Dee's pie was the sort that is really a bowl of stew with a flakey pastry lid on that passes for pie these days in pubs.  That said, it was pretty good!  The gravy was rich and had the slightest hint of Guinness, the meat was tender and tasty and wasn't outnumbered by the mushrooms.

My linguini was cooked beautifully, just the soft side of al-dente.  There was plenty of crab meat and a fair few crayfish tails mixed in to a lovely sauce that spoke of lemon grass, ginger and a little red chilli.   I would cheerfully order it again on a future visit.

Cafe gourmand

The desert choice was pretty much a foregone conclusion, really.  When we're in France I always choose a cafe gourmand for desert.  This usually means a short, strong coffee with a small selection of deserts.  Sometimes a little shot-glass of fruit salad and a little mouthful of cake, sometimes a little mousse....you get the idea.  As soon as I saw it on the specials board I knew I would be ordering it.  Well....it didn't disappoint!  A lovely strong, dark coffee with a selection of three little tasters.  A tiny creme brulee, a little cube of chocolate moelleux and four thin strands of candied orange dipped in dark chocolate.  To be hyper-critical, the moelleux was a little over done.  It's meant to be soft and gooey, this was like soft sponge cake, but tasted good for all that.

As soon as Dee heard me say there was a crumble on the menu she stopped looking.  As it turns out, it was an apple and red berry crumble with that runny French custard they call creme anglais.  It was delicious!

So all in all, the Farmhouse is a charming country village pub on one side, and a high quality gastro-pub on the other.  Good value, friendly service, excellent food.  Worth a run out to West Malling High Street if you want that little bit more than pub food without the formal restaurant feel.